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Spain's Dani Pedrosa has cut into the championship lead of compatriot Jorge Lorenzo with victory at the weekend's German MotoGP in Sachsenring.

Starting his Honda on Bridgestone's extra hard tyre compound, Pedrosa was locked in a tussle for the lead with Lorenzo when a crash involving Randy de Puniet, Aleix Espargaro and Alvaro Bautista brought out the red flag.

When the race re-started, the two Spaniards resumed their battle over the final 21 laps with Pedrosa crossing the line less than four seconds ahead of Lorenzo to take the win.

"The race was difficult because in the first part Jorge and I were going so well, then we saw the red flag," Pedrosa said.

"Sometimes when you restart it's not the same, but when I restarted I felt just as good and again Jorge and I were going well. Jorge overtook me but we were going fast together. At the end I was spinning in many corners but still able to go fast so I'm very happy."

Australia's Casey Stoner took the final podium position, waiting until the final corner before overtaking defending World Champion Valentino Rossi, who was making his comeback after breaking his leg six weeks ago.

"This weekend we used rear tyres with a special construction designed to have better heat durability, the same as we use in Phillip Island," said Tohru Ubukata , Manager of Bridgestone's Motorcycle Tyre Development Department.

"This helped durability a great deal and was the reason that riders could use the softer option for the race."

Lorenzo now has 185 points at the top of the standings, with Pedrosa second on 138 and Dovizioso third on 102. Stoner moves into fourth, 19 points off Dovizioso.